“Our message to the government is this : You bailed out the banks, now bail out the NHS. To the corporations we say: Keep your hands off our NHS you thieving tory bastards!”

Blairite challenger Gerard Coyne, despite engaging in all of the alastair Campellesque tactics in the Blairite bag of dirty tricks, failed to oust the Trade Union leader. The challenge of Coyne was quoted by Blairites like Luke Akehurst as the next step in the process of dislodging the Left from their position of power in the Labour Party.

Such plans are now left ground in the dust – as are all of the machinations and plans of the Blairite rump, many of whom, having laid the political battlefield with mines and boobytraps, are now running away from the fight for June 8th.

“My mum and Dad lost their firstborn son when he was 3 years old. It was pre the NHS, and he died because of lack of healthcare. My mum told me of the scenes in the 1920s & 1930s seeing the young mothers begging on the streets for money to pay to see a doctor.

They fought for the NHS. It’s our heritage, and it’s our duty to pass it on to future generations We are told that we cannot afford the NHS. We can’t afford not to have the NHS.

Nye Bevan would have been proud of all of you today.”

McClusky stood, often alone, in defence of the Labour Party membership all through the savage, vicious attacks on the rank and file during the Labour leadership election of last summer. This leadership challenge was put forward by the Blairites as McClusky’s ‘comeuppance’. Clearly, the Blairites aren’t as influential as they seemed to think.

“I congratulate Len McCluskey on his victory and would urge the entire union to pull together in the interests of our members, and not least to work for a Labour victory in the general election.

The turnout in this important election can give no cause for satisfaction and, while the tone of the campaign will not have helped, the underlying reason remains the archaic and expensive balloting system imposed on trade unions by law.

The sooner we can move to secure and secret workplace and online voting the better for union democracy.” Unite acting general secretary Gail Cartmail

It is a sign of the strength of the Left wing movement of which McClusky is one of the leaders that, despite the crippling NeoThaterite Union laws, RedLen still won this fight. Real Labour have come out swinging after this snap election announcement.